La Plaza Olvera is where the heart of Mexican culture in Los Angeles beats. This is where all the tourists go to in downtown to get a feel of a traditional plaza with its mercadito, churros, tamales and obligatory knick knacks to buy. But Olvera Street is more than a tourist spot, it’s a historical landmark known as “the birthplace of Los Angeles,” or Nuestra Ciudad de Los Angeles.

So imagine how thrilled we were when Camila’s Spanish music teacher at school — which so happens to be Sara of Music with Sara! — told us the school’s Spanish immersion students had been invited to sing at the Plaza Olvera’s tree lighting ceremony! Of course we signed her up and she was super excited.

They sang a slew of traditional villancicos, as well as adored songs like “Cómo la Flor” and “Tómbola.” The kids were just amazing and our hearts melted every time Sara would get up to let the audience know that these kids are learning in two languages and most of them don’t even have the luxury of speaking Spanish at home. Yet there they were, singing their hearts out en español y en la Plaza Olvera.

Below are a few Instagram videos I made, but I also share more pictures of this beautiful moment, as well as of the other three music and ballet performances my daughter had the last few weeks, over in this post on my Babble column. She’s sure kept us busy y muy orgullosos!!

Not only do we love Baila Baila’s music in Spanish for kids, but now we’re also really enjoying their YouTube channel, especially their “Ayer, Hoy y Mañana con el elefante” created to help children practice easy conjugations in Spanish.

So far they have launched three videos in this series, but they promise one per week. Check out this one for the word “jugar” and make sure you subscribe for more!

If there’s one thing that can get my family of three on the verge of a serious disagreement it is the music we listen to. My husband goes from heavy rock to cool indie. I love my Latin indie pop and rock, as well as some salsa, cumbia and merengüe for those lift-me-up moments. Camila is totally getting into top of the charts pop music, like what’s played on Disney Radio. And I have to admit I’ll sing-a-long with her on a good Taylor Swift or Teen Beach Movie song. Yes, ¡se te pegan!

So I figured that since we’ve been going places a lot with our Prius V and it’s so easy to stream my Spotify playlists when I connect my iPhone via the ToyotaEntune app, that I should create a playlist of songs that would be more geared to Camila’s tastes, yet my husband and I could agree on as well. Turns out we’re also very picky about the type of music for kids we like. Much more indie than traditional, for sure.

Here’s a peek at how we’ve been dealing with entertainment on the road.

Here’s the playlist that’s currently on rotation in our Toyota Prius V and it’s public so you can easily subscribe to it and add it to your Spotify playlists. It includes 30 tunes from many of our SpanglishBaby Finds favorites like Music with Sara, Moona Luna, Mister G, Lucky Díaz, José Luis Orozco, Habla Blah Blah, Nathalia, Dan Zanes and so many more!

So, what did you think? You like? Let me know if there’s any that would fit the vibe and I’ll gladly add it.

Oh, and here’s a little extra treat para las mujeres — my playlist called Mujeres con Soul. Enjoy

Multicultural Kid Blogs is officially one year old as of today. To celebrate we are hosting a virtual birthday party and YOU are invited!

The Party

Be sure to visit the participating blogs (see list at the end of this post) to see what they are bringing to the party, plus link up your own posts on the MKB site!

The Giveaway

Like any good host, we don’t want you to go home empty handed, so we are offering some great prizes to three lucky winners. See the end of the post for details on the prizes.

To enter, visit the MKB site to:

1) Link up a birthday-related post or

2) Comment on the MKB site to tell us your wish for the coming year!

Party Hosts

Dad’s the Way I Like It
MommyMaestra
SpanglishBaby
For the Love of Spanish
Spanish Playground
the piri-piri lexicon
Expat Life with a Double Buggy
Kids Yoga Stories
MarocMama
All Done Monkey

Party Favors

Prize #1

Digital download of Más Canciones en Español from Music with Sara

Prize #2

Set of 2 books from National Geographic Kids – US Shipping Only

Treasury of Egyptian Mythology

How to Speak Dog

Prize #3

Lively Spanish immersion program DVD recommended for children ages 2-7 from Whistlefritz

Now it’s your turn! Visit the MKB site for a chance to win one of these prizes by linking up your birthday posts or commenting to tell us your wish for the coming year!

Giveaway will go through midnight PDT on Monday,  Sept 30.

Interactive US Census Map Pinpoints Foreign Language Speakers on Voice of America — Check out the languages spoken at the homes of more than 60 million people in the United States.

Signing Foreign Phrases Makes Learning a Second Language Easier on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation — More proof that music is a great way to expose your children to Spanish. Here’s a list of some of our favorite children’s music in Spanish.

96 Things You Can Do Today to Boost Your Child’s Bilingual Ability on BilingualMonkeys.com —  This is an excellent list full of great ideas that all parents raising bilingual kids should keep handy.

Who, Exactly is a Gringo? also on NPR’s Code Switch — How do you define the word “gringo”? Do you find it offensive? Where did the word come from?

If you have not yet had the pleasure of hearing Jose-Luis Orozco’s newest CD with Duck Duck Moose, Favorite Spanish Songs For Kids, you MUST! It is a brilliant arrangement of bilingual music made for both English and Spanish speakers filled with Latin and American classics that both parents and their children (or teachers and students) will enjoy for sure. The variety of tempo and rhyme in the music and lyrics provides a balanced range of lessons that help with language acquisition in young children that is sometimes difficult to find in Children’s Music. I love a good CD that teaches and entertains at the same time and this is one of those. There is something for everyone in the family to enjoy!

A couple of our favorites were “Buenos Dias” (Good Morning), and “Diez Deditos” (Ten Little Fingers) because they’re both sung in English and Spanish. In fact, I used to sing both these songs each morning as we gathered for circle time when I was a daycare provider. I was so thrilled to hear these songs on there! Another favorite that we all enjoyed was “Las Vocales” (The Vowels), also in English and Spanish. Hearing these familiar songs in both languages brought back so many memories of my preschool teaching days.

My own favorite from this CD was “Compadre Comprame Un Coco” (Buy Me A Coconut). I swear we played that song countless times together as a family, laughing at just trying to keep up with the hilarious 32-second tongue twister. Paired with some of his award-winning books like Diez Deditos and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America, and De Colores and Other Latin American Folk Songs, you’re sure to experience many fun-filled gatherings either at circle time if you’re a preschool teacher, or parent at home.

Listen to some short samples of this CD for yourself on the Duck Duck Moose site and also download the full lyrics in both English and Spanish!

(The entire album is available for purchase on iTunes for $9.99 and Google Play for $9.49.)

The Giveaway!

We are giving away one digital copy of Jose-Luis Orozco’s newest CD with Duck Duck Moose, Favorite Spanish Songs For Kids to THREE lucky winners! Winners will receive their prize through iTunes or Google Play. All you have to do is visit the music preview page and leave us a comment letting us know which song you and niños enjoyed the most. Then enter the rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A few weeks ago a reader asked us on our Facebook wall if we could recommend una canción del alfabeto that was fun, upbeat and didn’t include the ch, ll, or rr. One quick search lead me to Basho and Friends and their “Orale, el alfabeto” song. Both the animation and the song are very simple, yet engaging and not overwhelming for kids. Actually, their version of the alfabeto song is quite catchy.

Check it out for yourselves…

Basho and Friends “believes that music is universal and brings people together.” We agree! Check out their site for songs and videos in Spanish, English, Mandarin and French.

My bilingual 19 month-old daughter has two new favorite words. She went from only saying “Hi” to “Hola Hello” after listening to Mariana Iranzi’s new album. “Hola Hello” is the album’s title and the name of its catchy single. I loved it because it is not only bilingual but also multicultural. Her songs, besides being in Spanish and English, also touch cultural aspects such as Latin American rhymes like “Los Pollitos,” and English classics that she has made her own like “Five Little Monkeys.”

The fact that the album is bilingual was what caught my attention first, but after listening to every song I was moving my tail and can attest that it’s more than just a source for parents raising bilingual children — it is a fiesta for all! Play this CD and Mariana will have everyone in the family dancing thanks to the wide variety of musical styles and instruments played. The lyrics are very cheerful, which is great for the little ones. On the other hand, the contemporary style and the rock, reggae and Latin-flavored tunes make this album appealing to older ones as well. Some soothing songs are also included which will be perfect for the nursery and nap time.

There is a lot of room for entertainment and learning with this 13-song CD. The song “Veo Veo” teaches the different animal names and sounds, “Arco Iris” aims to teach the colors of the rainbow and “La Semana” the days of the week. Mariana is an Argentinian professional musician, singer and composer with a focus on child education, which makes this a well thought-out resource for fun and learning.

Mariana shared with us the newest music video she just released for the song “Arco Iris.”

Grab a copy of “Hola Hello” by downloading her album ($9.99) or purchasing the CD ($15) at CDBaby.  You can also find her on Facebook and YouTube.

The Giveaway!

We’re giving away one copy of “Hola Hello” to THREE lucky winners. All you have to do is visit Hola Hello’s CBBaby page, preview the songs, and let us know which is your favorite in the comments below. Then enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The checklist to make children’s music is short: catchy, easy to follow, and danceable. Rarely does matching the checklist constitute to a good album, but in Nathalia’s debut album “from here to there” not only did she incorporate fun, catchy, and danceable songs but also educational, inspiring, and multicultural rich pieces that celebrates a bilingual identity.

Nathalia has a background in child development and musical therapy, which shines through in songs like “Kindergarten Here I Come,” and educational songs like “H-E-L-L-O” and “La Semana.”  There are also fun follow the leader type of songs like “Cray train” and “Animal Bop” along with an inspirational tune that calls to “Help the World.”

The highlights of the album are “Mi Carrito” and “Mundo de Colores” which have a very Colombian feel to them. “Mi Carrito” the musical rhythms and style that have become iconic for artists like Juanes. “Mundo de Colores” immediately reminded me of “Color Esperanza” by Diego Torres—vallanato/cumbia mixed with a positive message of friendship, love, and appreciation for the world around us. Both songs do more than just introduce South American musical styles; they allow a bridge between children’s and adult contemporary music that ultimately create children with sophisticated musical tastes.

For more on Nathalia visit Nathalia Music or visit her on Facebook and Twitter .

The Giveaway!

We are giving away one copy of Nathalia from here to there to THREE lucky winner! To enter just visit Nathalia Music and tell us which song you think your kids will enjoy the most. Then enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My son Santiago suffers from second child syndrome. Have you ever heard of that? It refers to how most second children don’t get the same kind of attention first children get. It’s not like I’m neglecting Santiago or anything like that, I just haven’t done the same sort of things I did with Vanessa at his age.

For starters, I’ve been working full-time since right before he turned one, which means I haven’t had nearly as much free time with him as I had with her. We also stopped going to our bilingual children meetup once Vanessa started kindergarten, so Santiago never really got the chance to make any friends in the group. I’ve also noticed I don’t read to him as much as I read to her, although luckily, now that Vanessa knows how to read, she does a lot of the reading and Santiago loves it.

Then, the other day he was giving me a hard time while I was trying to get him dressed for preschool when I decided to start singing “Arroz con leche” just out of the blue. Santiago LOVES music like no other child I’ve met and I was amazed that my singing worked wonders since he immediately came to me and let me get him dressed. But it broke my heart to realize that even though he wanted, he couldn’t follow along because he didn’t know the lyrics.

How is is possible that my 3-year-old son can’t sing “Arroz con leche“? I felt terrible so I continued singing to see what other traditional children’s songs in Spanish he didn’t know. “Los pollitos dicen“? Barely. “Aserrín, aserrán“? Not a clue. “Tengo una muñeca“? Never heard of it. Seems like “Pimpón” was the only one he knew almost in its entirety.

At his age, Vanessa knew how to sing all of the songs above and many more. I know it’s not the end of the world because I can still teach them to him, but it just got  me thinking how crazy it is that I didn’t even realize he hasn’t really heard them all that much.

Music is such a great way of enriching a bilingual child’s vocabulary — and in Santiago’s case even more so since he’s so in love with music. So now we’re making sure we listen to all the CD’s we have with traditional children’s music in Spanish. Santiago has a CD player in his room, so I’ve just started playing these songs whenever we’re in his room and he’s totally into them.

Teaching my son these traditional songs reminds me of my own childhood, and I can only hope that one day, when he becomes a dad, he’ll sing them to his child and remember his own childhood. By the way, if you don’t remember all the lyrics, there’s an amazing site called Mama Lisa’s Wolrd which includes all of them (with English translations) divided by country. Besides songs, you can also find nursery rhymes from all over the world. I promise that once you visit, you’ll be hooked and you’ll remember even more traditional children’s songs in Spanish.

The two CDs we play the most in our house are Canciones Infantiles and Canciones Infantiles del Tiempo de la Abuela.

And here’s a list of some of our other favorite CD’s with children’s music in Spanish:

• Music With Sara
• Salsa for Kittens & Puppies
• Caramba Kids
• Moona Luna
• Chocolalala
• Sones de México Ensemble
• Cha Cha Cha: Canciones Infantiles
• Chakuchukuchá-Bilingual Latin Beats
• The SpanglishBaby YouTube Musica Playlist